The Third Class Carriage
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| Honoré Daumier, The Third Class Carriage, 1864 |
One recurrent themes of Honoré Daumier's work, was the impact of industrialization and urbanization on the working class people of Paris. Here, in The Third Class Carriage, his societal commentary turns his attention to new forms of public transport, namely, trains. His interest was not in the vehicles themselves, but instead in the ways in which they reinforced social hierarchy within such modern and allegedly democratic conveyances.
The invention and widespread use of the railroad was but one of the many changes heralded by the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution shattered societal norms throughout Europe by dramatically redefining the socio-economic standings of many working class citizens. As the factory system and mechanization of tools took over, many working class citizens found themselves forced out of the country-side and into the cities. This may be exact situation of the women in Daumier’s work here. It is quite possible that the subjects of his painting have been forced to abandon their previous jobs as artisans or farmers in the wake of industrialization.
The women in the foreground of the painting represent three generations, almost as if it were the full spectrum of life. The figures who occupy the wooden bench in the painting's foreground are clearly of the lower class, as indicated by their disheveled and worn appearance. These third class travelers are physically separated from the more affluent passengers behind them, representing their social and economic separation. The third class family also faces away from the rest of the passengers, further emphasizing their isolation and rejection from Parisian society.
The feeling of compression that dominates the background is dispelled by the spaciousness surrounding the figures nearest the picture plane. In contrast to the irritable expressions of the wealthier passengers in the background, the nursing mother, the grandmother, and the sleeping child, who are all bathed in a golden light, seem quite serene. These features may allude to Daumier’s critique of the upper class being emotionally unfulfilled despite their apparent economic success. Daumier may be saying that it is be better to remain impoverished and content than wealthy and miserable. Though the painting is unfinished, it is still obvious that Daumier seeks to capture the plight of the working class by capturing the quiet moments of their everyday lives.
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